Maryland Bills

passed · Maryland · House of Delegates Mar 24, 2025

HB 1372: Washington County - Notice of Tax Sale - Alterations

This bill changes how Washington County notifies property owners before tax sales. It reduces the required newspaper notices from four weekly publications to two alternate-week publications and mandates posting sale notices on the county website four weeks prior to the sale. It also requires an additional notice copy to be mailed to owners within 15 days of the initial notice. These changes directly affect property owners in Washington County facing potential tax sales for unpaid taxes.

passed · Maryland · House of Delegates Mar 24, 2025

HB 1333: Washington County - Property Tax Credit for Disabled Veterans - Eligibility

HB 1333 expands Washington County's property tax credit for disabled veterans to include members of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Public Health Service who meet the same eligibility criteria as military veterans. The bill modifies the definition of "disabled veteran" to explicitly cover these federal service members, maintaining the existing requirement that applicants must have a service-connected disability rated by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The credit amount remains tied to the veteran’s disability rating percentage (e.g., a 50% disability rating equals a 50% credit on property taxes). This change directly affects eligible NOAA and Public Health Service members who own or reside in a dwelling house in Washington County and qualify under the existing tax credit rules.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Veterans

passed · Maryland · Senate Mar 24, 2025

SB 447: Hospitals - Emergency Pregnancy-Related Medical Conditions - Procedures

SB 447 requires Maryland hospitals with emergency departments to screen patients for emergency medical conditions, including pregnancy-related emergencies like active labor. It mandates that hospitals stabilize such conditions before transferring patients - specifically ensuring a pregnant person cannot be transferred if delivery is imminent or transfer poses health risks to the person or unborn child. The bill prohibits hospitals from punishing providers or staff who refuse to transfer unstable patients or report violations. It also requires written consent from patients before transfers and detailed medical records for receiving facilities. This directly affects all Maryland hospitals operating emergency departments and their medical staff.

Topics ✓ Healthcare

passed · Maryland · House of Delegates Mar 24, 2025

HB 296: Personal Property Tax - Exemptions for Low Assessments - Alteration

HB 296 repeals a law that prevented Maryland's tax department from requiring businesses with business personal property valued under $20,000 in original cost to file tax returns or provide property information. This change allows the department to collect necessary details from these businesses to confirm their exemption eligibility. The bill directly affects small businesses that qualify for the personal property tax exemption based on the $20,000 threshold. The exemption itself remains unchanged, meaning these businesses continue to be exempt from paying the tax.

passed · Maryland · House of Delegates Mar 24, 2025

HB 23: Property Taxes - Authority of Counties to Establish a Subclass and Set a Special Rate for Commercial and Industrial Property

HB 23 allows counties and Baltimore City to create a special property tax rate for certain commercial and industrial properties, which must be in addition to existing taxes and cannot exceed specific limits. This special rate can only fund transportation projects (within designated districts) or county education budgets. The bill requires counties to automatically grant tax exemptions or credits for residential portions in mixed-use buildings and offers tax credits to small businesses (under 50 employees) owning qualifying commercial property. It directly affects commercial/industrial property owners, mixed-use building owners, and small businesses, while ensuring residential sections of buildings receive tax relief.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Transportation

passed · Maryland · House of Delegates Mar 24, 2025

HB 84: Transportation – Major Highway Capacity Expansion Projects and Impact Assessments (Transportation and Climate Alignment Act of 2025)

HB 84 requires Maryland’s Department of Transportation to develop multimodal transportation programs (including transit, pedestrian, and bicycle improvements) alongside major highway expansion projects costing over $5 million. The bill mandates that these projects undergo assessments of their impact on greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled (VMT), with the requirement that the net VMT increase from the project and its offset program must equal or be less than zero. Priority for funding these offset programs is given to overburdened and underserved communities affected by the highway project, followed by regional and statewide benefits. The law applies to new major highway projects not already in the statewide transportation program by June 2025.

Topics ✓ Energy ✓ Environment ✓ Transportation

passed · Maryland · House of Delegates Mar 24, 2025

HB 942: Economic Development - Tax Increment Financing - Noncontiguous Areas

HB 942 allows local governments in Maryland to designate *noncontiguous* (non-connected) areas as development districts for tax increment financing, specifically targeting blighted areas. It directly affects counties and cities (including Baltimore City, which gains new authority under this bill) by expanding existing tax increment financing rules to cover disconnected parcels. The key mechanism permits the Community Development Administration in the Department of Housing and Community Development to issue bonds for development projects in these designated noncontiguous blighted areas. This bill amends Maryland’s Economic Development law to explicitly include noncontiguous areas in the definition of "development district" and authorizes bond financing through the Community Development Administration.

Topics ✓ Budget & Taxes ✓ Housing

passed · Maryland · House of Delegates Mar 24, 2025

HB 1061: State-Owned Property - Inventory and Disposition - Housing

HB 1061 requires Maryland state agencies to submit inventories of their owned properties to the Department of Planning. The Department must then assess each property for suitability for affordable housing or solar energy production, considering factors like size, utilities, access, and location within designated priority areas. If suitable for housing, agencies must propose donating or selling the property to nonprofits or buyers committed to affordable housing (or mixed-use developments containing affordable housing), or lease for solar energy if applicable, with public notice of the process. The bill updates state law to formalize this inventory, assessment, and disposition process for state-owned property.

Topics ✓ Energy ✓ Housing

passed · Maryland · Senate Mar 21, 2025

SB 750: State Personnel - Collective Bargaining - Part-Time Faculty

SB 750 grants collective bargaining rights to part-time faculty at Maryland's public institutions of higher education, including community colleges and universities. The bill expands the definition of "faculty" to explicitly include part-time and adjunct employees with academic responsibilities (such as teaching or research), excluding supervisors, confidential staff, and student employees. It establishes separate bargaining units for these faculty members and allows units to combine into a single bargaining unit. This change modifies Maryland's State Personnel and Pensions Article to formally include part-time faculty under collective bargaining protections previously limited to full-time staff.

Topics ✓ Education ✓ Labor & Employment

passed · Maryland · Senate Mar 20, 2025

SB 153: Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee and House Environment and Transportation Committee - Code References - Revisions

SB 153 updates Maryland law to reflect renamed legislative committees. It changes references from the "Senate Education, Health, and Environmental Affairs Committee" to the "Senate Education, Energy, and the Environment Committee" and from the "House Environmental Matters Committee" to the "House Environment and Transportation Committee" throughout the Annotated Code of Maryland. The bill requires the publisher of the Code to correct all related cross-references and terminology, documenting changes in editor’s notes. This is a procedural update affecting legal references, not a new policy or regulation.

passed · Maryland · Senate Mar 20, 2025

SB 24: Annotated Code - Terminology - Clergy and Churches, Faith Institutions, and Places of Worship

SB 24 updates terminology in Maryland's laws to use more inclusive language. It changes references from "clergyman" to "member of the clergy" and "churches" to "faith institutions and places of worship" across multiple state code sections. The bill affects all existing laws that currently use these outdated terms, including those related to alcohol regulations, business licensing, education, health, and property. This is a purely linguistic update with no new policy requirements or impacts.

passed · Maryland · House of Delegates Mar 20, 2025

HB 188: Procurement - Scrutinized Entities - Prohibition

HB 188 prohibits Maryland state and local governments from contracting with entities owned, operated, or controlled by governments of countries subject to a federal arms embargo under the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. It requires the Board of Public Works to maintain a public list of such "scrutinized entities" and mandates that all bidders or contractors certify they are not on this list. The bill includes procedures for entities to contest inclusion on the list (with 90 days' notice and opportunity to provide evidence) and allows state agencies to report false certifications to the Attorney General for potential penalties. This applies to all state/local government procurement for goods or services, preempting conflicting local laws.

Bill results